Sign up HERE to our DC Insider newsletter - your guide to what's rocking Washington, rattling the White House and setting tongues wagging on the HillSee more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred SourceBy PHILLIP NIETO, US POLITICAL REPORTER Published: 22:03 BST, 14 July 2026 | Updated: 22:29 BST, 14 July 2026
Donald Trump has unleashed a fresh barrage on Iran in a bid to smash Tehran's power to wreak havoc in the Strait of Hormuz.US Central Command struck Iranian missile and radar sites along the Persian Gulf on Tuesday, hours before American forces were due to reimpose a naval blockade on the country's ports and coastline. 'The blockade goes into effect at 4 p.m. ET,' Central Command said.Tehran hit back within hours, unleashing its own salvo of missiles at American bases and allied targets across the region. One Iranian rocket was plastered with a sticker carrying a Biblical message aimed squarely at Trump.'If they claim to have destroyed all or most of Iran's military capability, yet they are still being slapped around by Iran, there are two reasons,' Iran's message reads. 'First, they are lying; second, the prayers and blessings of the prophets Moses, Jesus, David and Solomon stand behind the monotheistic nation of Iran.' Regime propaganda routinely reaches for prophets shared by Islam, Christianity and Judaism to cast America as the aggressor and has branded the US 'The Great Satan.' Donald Trump has unleashed a fresh barrage on Iran in a bid to smash Tehran's power to wreak havoc in the Strait of Hormuz Tehran hit back within hours, unleashing its own salvo of missiles at American bases and allied targets across the region One Iranian rocket was plastered with a sticker carrying a Biblical message aimed squarely at Trump 'If they claim to have destroyed all or most of Iran's military capability, yet they are still being slapped around by Iran, there are two reasons,' Iran's message reads Over the last week, Iran has targeted various Middle Eastern countries that host US military basesA second sticker in the regime's video also jeered the President: 'Hey Trump, our God is the same God who carried the faith of Abraham forward for centuries — the God of Moses and Jesus.'Prior to the strikes, Trump reversed a plan to impose a 20 percent security fee on commercial vessels moving through the Strait of Hormuz. Instead, the US will move forward with a full naval blockade targeting Iranian shipping. The truce collapsed last week when Iran struck three vessels in the Strait of Hormuz and the US retaliated with two rounds of strikes.Trump pronounced the deal dead from the NATO summit in Ankara: 'There's something wrong with them. They're cuckoo. As far as I'm concerned, it's over.'The Strait of Hormuz, the Persian Gulf chokepoint carrying about a fifth of the world's oil, has been a central flashpoint since the war began in February, sending markets spiraling with every escalation.Brent crude vaulted above $86 a barrel after Tuesday's strikes, piling onto Monday's 8 percent leap as traders braced for a chokehold on the world's most vital oil artery. Over the last week, Iran has targeted various Middle Eastern countries that host US military bases, claiming responsibility for strikes in Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, and Qatar.Some of the targets attacked by US forces included missile and drone sites, naval capabilities, ammunition storage facilities, and communication networks.
